Cybercasing The Joint: On The Privacy Implications Of Internet Posts
Gerald Friedland, International Computer Science Institute
09/06/2012
This talk aims to raise awareness for a rapidly emerging privacy threat that we termed "cybercasing": leveraging information available online to mount real-world attacks. Based on the initial example of geo-tagging, I will show that while users typically realize that sharing information, e.g., on social networks, has some implications for their privacy, many users 1) are unaware of the full scope of the threat they face when doing so, and 2) often do not even realize when they publish such information. The threat is elevated by recent developments that make systematic search for information (either posted by humans or by sensors) and inference from multiple sources easier than ever before. This talk presents a set of scenarios demonstrating how easy it is to correlate data, especially those based on location information, with corresponding publicly available information for compromising a victim's privacy.
The Smart Grid: Too Smart For The Rest Of Us?
Toby Tyler, PG&E
09/13/2012
The electric grid in the United States has been suffering from chronic under-investment and is unlikely to support future demands without deployment of new technologies. Smart Grid technologies promise to improve the reliability and efficiency of the grid in a less expensive and more sustainable way than traditional energy infrastructure investment. Energy utilities are deploying Smart Energy Home Area Networks that enable two-way communication between the utility and the home. But the response from consumers so far has been mixed. This presentation will examine the opportunities for more efficient operation of the energy grid and the barriers to doing so from both a technology and a consumer perspective.
Getting Hired With Open-Source Programming
Ban Bangert, Groovie
09/20/2012
Despite the overall job economy not being that great, it’s remarkably easy to get hired for software development if you know the places to go and things to know. Learn how open-source projects add valuable experience to your resume and how the new resume is increasingly becoming a list of open-source projects hosted on distributed version control (DVCS) sites like Github and Bitbucket. This talk covers background material such as: What is a distributed version control system? What is open-source? How do I get involved in an open-source project? Where do I meet people in the open-source community? How does open-source help me get a job? Mentoring and apprenticeship via open-source programming.
Combining Web Technologies With Numerical Computing
Jacob Mattingley, Ubalo
09/27/2012
While working on my PhD I decided to offer my optimization research software, CVXGEN, as a web service. Rather than require users to download and maintain a complicated software stack just to try CVXGEN, I opted to provide it as an application available in the web browser. This means a lot more people use my software, and it's much easier for me to maintain it and support the community. In this talk I'll discuss how to combine very different aspects of software development, and talk about the benefits of using modern technologies alongside serious research. I'll give demos and talk about some of the pitfalls along the way.
Contact Centers (Cc) Of The 21-St Century
Vladimir Baculyn, Light Communications
10/04/2012
An industry overview. Computer Software evolution in CCs over the past 20 years. Optimization of a real-time ‘Person-Computer’ model in CC operations. Cloud Computing and Social Networks in modern day CCs.